In autumn 2026, a student protest about overcrowded, understaffed schools near Paris grew into a nationwide movement. Students, trade unions, farmers, pensioners and the returning “Yellow Vests” took to the streets over the cost of living and public spending cuts. This B2 lesson uses the story to teach news and current affairs vocabulary and to get students discussing protest, spending cuts and trust in politics.
Level: B2 · Time: 45 to 90 minutes. Pick the activities that suit your class. They work in almost any order.
Lesson Activities
- Warmer: Picture Reveal – Reveal the picture tile by tile. What is it? Which country? What do students know about France and the news there?
- Vocabulary: Pre-teach the Key Words – Match 10 words and phrases from the article to their meanings before reading (demand, turnout, vandalise, pay the price, out of touch, make concessions…).
- Reading: From School Gates to a National Crisis – A news-style article with 12 gaps. Choose without a word bank or with a word bank for extra support.
- Vocabulary: Sort the Words – Sort 15 words and phrases into People, Actions and Problems. Works well as a review after the reading.
- Discussion: Protest, Spending Cuts and Trust – 12 discussion questions on violence at protests, policing, spending cuts and whether protests change anything.
- Speaking: Ranking – What should the French government do? Students rank eight possible responses, then compare and justify their order in pairs.
Teacher Tips
- For a shorter lesson, use the warmer, the cloze and the discussion cards.
- Politics can be sensitive. The ranking task lets students give opinions without having to share their own political views.
- Follow-up: ask students to find one news headline about protests or prices in their own country and explain it to the class.
Teaching a lower-level group? Try the A2 version of this lesson.
Eiffel Tower photo: Benh LIEU SONG, via Wikimedia Commons.